Article 1 to article 4 under Part-I of the Constitution, deal with the Union and its territory. The constitutional provisions under this part are as follows

Name and Territory of the Union

The article 1 of constitution mentions the following-

1. India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States.
2. The States and the territories thereof shall be as specified in the First Schedule. 
3. The territory of India shall comprise —
4. the territories of the States;
5. the Union territories specified in the First Schedule; and
6. such other territories may be acquired.

• Name of the country: During the constituent assembly, members were unable to agree on the country’s name. Some advocated for the conventional name Bharat, while others backed the modern name India. As a result, the Constituent Assembly decided to use a combination of both names: India, that is, Bharat. 
• Union of States: India is referred to as a ‘Union,’ even though its constitution has a federal structure. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar explained that the phrase ‘Union of States’ was preferred instead of ‘federation of States’ for two primary reasons:

1. No agreement: The Indian Federation did not arise from a pact among the states.
2. No right to secede: The states do not possess the right to withdraw from the federation. 

• Type of Polity: India does not operate as a completely federal state. It has been segmented into various states primarily for administrative convenience, but no state possesses the authority to withdraw from the union. The federation is described as a Union due to its unbreakable character. No state is entitled to extract itself from the Indian union. The architects of the constitution organized the nation into manageable units (States and union territories) to facilitate improved governance and to accommodate our diverse ethnic and cultural demographics.

It is important to highlight that the phrase ‘territory of India’ encompasses a broader concept than ‘Union of India’.

• Union of India: Every state in India is included in the Union of India. 
• Territory of India: The territory of India encompasses not just the states, but also the union territories and any territories that the Government of India may obtain in the future.

Admission or Establishment of New States

Article 2 grants the Parliament the authority to create or incorporate new states into the Union of India under terms and conditions it deems appropriate.

• Power of Parliament: The terms and conditions of such addition or establishment are decided by the Parliament. The Parliament is granted two powers under the article: 

• Admit new states: The authority to include new states into the union of India, meaning the acceptance of states that already exist. 

1. Establish new states: The authority to create new states, referring to those that did not previously exist.

• Scope: This article relates to admission or establishment of states which are not part of the Union of India. For instance, Sikkim became a part of India in 1975. Prior to this, it was not included in India.

Article 3 of the Indian Constitution

Formation of new states and alteration of areas, boundaries or names of existing states: Under this article, the parliament has been given following powers: 

• Power of Parliament: Parliament has been given the following powers under the article;

1. New state: The Parliament can create new states out of existing states. This can be achieved through the division of territory from an existing state, the consolidation of two or more states or portions of states, or by integrating a territory with a section of any state. Examples include the establishment of Telangana from Andhra Pradesh, the formation of Uttarakhand from Uttar Pradesh, and the creation of Punjab by combining Patiala with the East Punjab States Union (Pepsu).
2. Area: The Parliament is authorized to expand or reduce the area of any state. 
3. Boundaries: The Parliament has the authority to modify the boundaries of any state. 
4. Name: The Parliament can change the name of a state. For example, the state known as Madras was renamed Tamil Nadu in 1969.

There are two specific requirements that must be met before parliament can create new states or change the areas or boundaries of current states: 

• Preliminary recommendation: This bill can only be presented in parliament with the prior approval of the President
• State legislature view: The President before recommending this bill to the parliament has to refer the bill to the concerned state’s legislature so that the state can express its views on the bill. 
• The power of the state legislature are limited in case of the bill (unitary feature of the constitution):

1. Non-binding: State’s views are not binding and the President (or the Parliament) can choose to ignore the state’s suggestions. 
2. No reference for new changes: If new changes are made in the bill, it is not necessary to refer that bill to the concerned state again for its views. 
3. Provision in case of Union territories: Provision concerning Union territories: When the bill pertains to a Union territory with its own state legislature (like Delhi, Puducherry, Jammu & Kashmir), there is no requirement to consult that legislature for its opinion on the bill.

• Scope: By exercising the powers under this article, Parliament can alter the political boundaries of India. This indicates that the states within the Union of India are not assured of their territorial integrity or continued existence as per the constitution. Consequently, the Indian Union is referred to as an “Indestructible union of destructible states.”.

Article 4 of the Indian Constitution 

Laws made under articles 2 and 3 provide for the amendment of the First and the Fourth Schedules and supplemental, incidental and consequential matters: There are two parts to this article:

1. Amendment to the 1st and 4th schedule: Any law which contains provisions under Article 2 or Article 3 shall contain provisions for the amendment of the first schedule (Names of States and UTs and their territorial jurisdiction) and the fourth Schedule (Allocation of seats in the Rajya Sabha to states and UTs) which may be necessary to give effect to the provisions of the law.  
2. Article 368 is not applicable: No such law made under article 2 and 3 shall be considered as an amendment under Article 368.

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